In modern vehicles such as cars, a shift gear or mode of transmission is generally selected by the driver pivoting a shift lever along a gate in a shift lever assembly. The position of the shift lever is then detected and a shift command signal corresponding to the selected position, i.e. the selected mode of transmission, is sent to the transmission of the vehicle for effectuating the shift command.
When detecting the position of the shift lever, it is important that the components involved are reliable and robust so that they can perform well during long stretches of time, but also that their performance is maintained on a high level throughout the life of the shift lever assembly to prevent mistakes that would decrease the performance of the engine or cause damage to the vehicle.
Generally, it is desired to use an electronic detection of the position of the shift lever, due to the efficiency and compact design of the components required. Two such technologies are disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 7,614,319 and US 2010/0175494.
Often, however, it is difficult to achieve the desired results over long stretches of time using cost efficient components, and due to the tolerances of manufacturing and assembling the shift lever assembly, the risk for mistakes in detecting a position of the shift lever increases. It would therefore be desirable to achieve a reliable and robust shift lever assembly with electronic detection of positions of the shift lever, while at the same time achieving cost efficiency and minimize the risk for mistakes.